Europe's most-wanted man captured

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Salah Abdeslam had eluded authorities since the November 13 attacks in Paris

The Belgium-born French citizen was arrested in Molenbeek, a Brussels suburb

Authorities say he dropped off 3 suicide bombers near the Stade de France

(CNN)It took authorities four months to capture Salah Abdeslam, the most wanted man in Europe.

Of the 10 men accused of carrying out the deadly Paris terror attacks, he was the only one at large. Investigators think Abdeslam may have been the driver of the black Renault Clio that dropped off three suicide bombers near the Stade de France, one of the attack sites.

He is believed to have called friends to take him to Belgium after the attacks. They passed through police checkpoints, but Abdeslam had not yet been identified as a suspect and they were allowed to continue on their way.

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Captured in Molenbeek

He proved elusive until Friday, when authorities captured him after a shootout in Molenbeek, an impoverished suburb of Brussels, Belgium.

Armed and heavily protected police converged on the area and arrested Abdeslam at a residence.

Three explosions were heard there later Friday, CNN French affiliate BFMTV reported, though it wasn't clear if those were controlled blasts or part of a continuing operation.

Abdeslam, a Belgium-born French citizen, was taken alive but wounded, authorities said. He was brought to a hospital after being shot in the leg, CNN Belgium affiliate VTM reported, citing a police source.

Four other people were arrested, including three people in the same family who hid Abdeslam, Belgian Federal Prosecutor Eric Van Eric Van Der Sijpt, said in a press conference.

Authorities believe Abdeslam had been using the apartment as a hideout after the Paris attacks.

His brother died in suicide bombing

The search for Abdeslam had stretched across the world, with authorities thinking he might have fled to Syria. Molenbeek was an area of special interest.

Molenbeek has a heavy Muslim population and is known as a hotbed for jihadists. In the immediate aftermath of the Paris attacks, authorities conducted raids there and detained numerous individuals.

One was Abdeslam's brother, Mohammed Abdeslam, who was later released.

Mohammed Abdeslam told Belgian state broadcaster RTBF that he thinks Salah at the "last minute ... decided to reconsider" carrying out an attack on November 13; the attacks were intended as suicide missions.

One of those who did follow through was another brother, Ibrahim Abdeslam, a suicide bomber who detonated explosives outside a cafe on Paris' Boulevard Voltaire.